Category: Recaps

League Night #8 of 8

Games played: Tales of the Arabian Nights, Indiana Jones, Medieval Madness, Lord of the Rings

League Night #8 of Season 6 will no doubt go down in history as the longest league night to date.  Despite the fact that we played only 4 games (instead of 5 as had become more common this season), the night did not come to an end until after 10 p.m., as the final ball of the final game for the final group was played, by me, on Lord of the Rings.  I stood nearly alone, accompanied only by my loyal second Joseph, as everyone else had fled as soon as their ball was over.

We were scheduled to play The Simpsons Pinball Party, but just as I had a good game starting to open up after a terrible ball 1, my multiball was interrupted by the right flipper sticking in the upward position and refusing to come down.  Matt pointed out that if it lasted four hours, we would need to call for medical assistance.  Naturally the one time Simpsons doesn’t screw me one way, it screws me another.  The game was taken out of commission and replaced with Tales of the Arabian Nights.

Meanwhile, Medieval Madness was playable but playing very long, because the drawbridge was staying in the upward position, making for a much safer than usual shot at the castle.  It’s a long playing game anyway and certain parties were dreading playing it for that reason; this made it even worse, and the average score skewed very high.  Lord of the Rings had some very long playing games that night too, not because of any malfunction but just because it’s Lord of the Rings.  The only saving grace is that Indiana Jones didn’t have any problems with the idol lock.

Unfortunately, the long playing games came on a night when, unusually for a league night, The Avenue had a show booked.  When the band started up, the opening cymbal hit was so loud that I thought someone had dropped a huge tray of dishes.  Everyone else was equally startled and several people jumped.  Matt did us all a great favor by running back to his house and getting earplugs, without which I don’t think I could have finished my game of Lord of the Rings.  Unfortunately, those not interested in the music had a strong incentive to leave as soon as they finished their games, which is part of why I was mostly on my own by the time I finished my long, long night.

On the up side, Rich from Nomad Kitchen once again brought back the Burger Challenge.  Everyone gets one try to put up the highest score on a game of Rich’s choice (this time, Getaway), and the winner gets a burger and fries from the kitchen.  Chris put up a huge score and left instructions that if he won, he wanted the second place person to get the burger unless it was Adam.  He did indeed win, his second victory in the Nomad Challenge, and Adam came in second (he has also previously won a Nomad Challenge), so according to Chris’s instructions, third place winner Mike got the burger IOU.

In just an hour or two, the final playoff tournament will be starting.  The point totals from Season 6 will be used to seed the A and B division tournaments.  Will Chris remain the undefeated victor?  Come by The Avenue tonight at 7 and find out!

Season 6, meeting #6 of 8

Games played: Lord of the Rings, Iron Man, Monster Bash, Jack*Bot

My first order of business for League Night on 4/12 was to have a private word with Matt and let him know that we had brought a surprise: a cake for Mike S., whose birthday was two days previous. Aaron jumped in and began giving me grief: how dare I make “unilateral pastry decisions” for the league? I hid the cake in more or less plain sight over near the back door and hoped Mike was too distracted to see it. When it came time to start league play, I interrupted Matt’s assignment of groups by carrying in the cake.

Mike failed to blow out all the candles in one go, so I guess he won’t get his wish. Unless his wish was for delicious cake, since everyone seemed to agree that the cake was especially good. Thanks, Kroger bakery! Despite the excessive size of the cake (I thought more people would be there) it was three quarters gone by the end of the night and Mike took the rest home for his mom.

This was the least-attended night we have had in a while, largely due to the absence of the entire Grand Rapids crew (Jake, Sam, and Adam). Sam was out of town on a business trip, Jake had to work (a change in schedule that may affect the rest of the season for him), and Jake is Adam’s ride. As a result, we played only four games instead of what has become our customary five. Mike S. pleaded with Matt to add the fifth game (it would have been Theater of Magic) anyway, but it didn’t work.  He and Joseph suggested they would play it anyway and write their scores down in the scoring notebook. I don’t know if they did that or not since at the end of the night I instead stayed downstairs proving to myself that I can too play Jack*Bot.

This was a bit of an odd league night all around. The smaller number of games meant that everyone finished a lot earlier than usual, on top of this, for some reason people also didn’t hang around afterward. I guess the Grand Rapids crowd must be a good bit of our social glue, because everyone abandoned ship in a hurry until only Mike, Joseph, and I remained.  We went to Theio’s, just the three of us, which just wasn’t the same.

As of this writing Matt had not yet posted the scores due to pending makeup games, but you can also view more photos in the photo gallery. Tonight is the last regular night of the season which will determine seeding and divisions for the final playoffs. We are scheduled to play Medieval Madness, Simpsons Pinball Party, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Tales of the Arabian Nights and Addams Family (with the last two being contingency games), so we can all look forward to looking at Chris’s back all evening.

Season 6, meeting #6 of 8

Games played: Junk Yard, Attack from Mars, The Walking Dead, Theatre of Magic, World Cup Soccer

 The night opened with Matt delayed by school obligations, leaving Aaron to get things organized.  Initially it appeared that this would be the first night in quite a while that we would not exceed 16 people, which would mean we would play only four games.  Then someone asked: did Aaron remember to count himself?  No, he didn’t.  But that still only got us to 16 exactly.  Did Aaron remember to count Matt, who was on the way?  He forgot that too, and so happily (for those of us who prefer longer league nights, anyway) we were bumped back up to a five game night.

I mentioned to Russell that he had played a prominent role in the last league night update.  He hadn’t read it, so I filled him in about my mysterious note to myself: “Everyone gave Russell a hard time about everything.”  Someone else asked, “What was everyone giving you s— about, Russell?”  He replied that, as usual, it was about his sliding games.  He asked plaintively why he gets so much grief about that when lots of other people move the games just as much.  I have no answer to that question, but I am sure his reputation for making “Russell Grooves” was bestowed affectionately.

Speaking of sliding, my group failed to warn Steve in time about the particular quirks of Junk Yard.  I saw him go to give it a shove and I thought, “I should probably tell him –” but by the time I my mouth caught up with my brain, he had already slam tilted.  We had to break the news that this meant he would be getting a zero, but he took it with surprising equanimity.

I was playing The Walking Dead when the news made it upstairs: we would not be playing World Cup Soccer.  Was the ramp awarding goals again?  No, that wasn’t the problem this time.  Instead, a lightbulb had come loose and was rattling around the playfield.  WCS was out, Indiana Jones was in.  Ten minutes later, another emissary came bearing news from downstairs: we would be playing World Cup Soccer after all.  If I have it right, Chris and Sarah spent some time whacking the ball at the lightbulb until it worked its way into a spot where it couldn’t do any damage.

I made my last pitch for people to come to the March Hare Madness tournament (more on that soon), though perhaps I shouldn’t have.  When the morning of tournament rolled around so many people had marked themselves as “attending” on Facebook that Chris split into four Chrises and ran in the cardinal directions.  But that’s another story for another recap.

Our next league night is Tuesday (April 12), which marks one of the unusual occasions in which we have to suffer for three weeks between league nights.  There are only two meetings left this season, so the heat is really on, especially with very slim margins of points between many of the positions, and quite a few people teetering on the border between A and B divisions.  The results from this league night, and the current standings, can be viewed here.

It’s just about time for another league night, so of course it’s time for my customarily delinquent report of last league night.  February 23 brought us to the fourth meeting, and thus the halfway mark of the season.  There is still plenty of time left in the season for positions to change, but at this point it is safe to say that Chris has a pretty decisive lead, with 56 points over second place Joseph.  Sarah, in third place, trails Joseph by another 15 points, which is more than surmountable.  The rest of the “A division range,” the top eight, are clustered close together, from Matt’s 231-point fourth place, through a three-way tie for seventh place at 226 points.  (You can review the current standings here.)

This meeting once again saw a new participant: another Grand Rapids Pinball League regular, Adam.  Jake apparently convinced him to come by talking up Theio’s.  I asked him if he’s planning to come regularly and he said it will depend on his work schedule.  We also were graced with the return of a previous but long-absent league member, Terry.  Terry’s work schedule makes it difficult or impossible for him to attend league meetings, but the new flexible start time has allowed him to join us again.

Chris’s friend Janine returned for a second dance with the Avenue’s games.  I told her I was glad we hadn’t scared her off.  She said that she had to come back because after her first week she was last place in the league standings and her son was razzing her for it, so she needed to at least get out of last place.  This brought back memories for me… memories of how, when I was new to the league, I just hoped not to be in last place every time Matt posted standings!  (These hopes were not always fulfilled.)

Not that I’m always putting in a stellar performance these days either.  I had one of the most hot and cold days I can remember, starting the night with a 100-million-plus Addams Family (a personal record, yet one that only got me 3rd in my group, since Joseph and Sam both tore it up even more than that) and ending with a six-figure Tales of the Arabian Nights.

The night ended with Adam getting his promised trip to Theio’s, along with Jake, Sam, Joseph, and me.  As Jake told Adam before we arrived, we almost never talk about pinball at Theio’s — roller coasters are a much more frequent topic — but wouldn’t you know, the conversation this time ended up turning into a bit of a debate about the merits of a certain melon-themed game.  Don’t worry, no punches were thrown, and everyone escaped unscathed.  I hope Adam liked the eggs.

The league continues to grow this season, as last league night – the third of Season 6 – saw three new players.  Kandus brought her husband Joe, who fortunately goes by the short form of the name while my own husband Joseph never does, so I’m sure that will prevent any confusion.  Chris brought his friend Janine, who also does not go by Joseph, so all is well.  And longtime friend of the league Cattie is now an actual member of the league.  Until recently, Cattie had tended bar during league nights, and so is very familiar to the league.  She no longer works Tuesdays, which has been a tough adjustment for everyone.  The up side of this, however, is that she is now free to play in the league.

Although on the balance the league is growing, we have had a few (possibly temporary) departures from the league.  Aaron and Amanda G. had a good time at their first visit to the league, but have decided it’s just too far for them to come out on a regular basis.  Alex, a fixture of the league for a few seasons, has been too busy with running tournaments and his own league (the Blind Squirrel League out in Fremont) so he hasn’t been able to attend on a regular basis this season.

When I arrived, Chris, Sarah, Greg, and Janine were already playing their second game, as they had decided to start early.  Matt is now allowing people to start as soon as four people have arrived, supposedly to alleviate congestion now that the league has grown.  I can see the wisdom of this, but, dear reader, I hope that it does not work against the feeling of camaraderie that is the unique quality of our league.

I’m sorry to say that one of our games this time was Austin Powers, which unfortunately did not break.  I don’t get it; I keep sticking pins in my Austin Powers voodoo pinball machine.  Maybe I need to set it on fire.  I’m running out of time, since it’s one of the backup games for Tuesday so there is a nonzero chance we might have to endure it again.

On a brighter note, several people had very good games of Jack*Bot this time, including billion-plus scores for both Greg and Joseph.  At one point it did suffer a total reset during a game, a problem that has very occasionally happened in the past, but it didn’t recur.  That must be someone else’s voodoo; I like Jack*Bot.

Tuesday’s league night will bring us to the midway point of the season, and we probably will not have to play Austin Powers.  We will get to play Tales of the Arabian Nights, which has gotten its sound fixed at last!  I hope to see you all at 7 p.m. at the Avenue.

January 12 began Season 6 of the league.  Season 6!  It’s amazing to think back on the changes that have come to the league since Joseph and I first joined during the third meeting of Season 1.  At the time there were only four games (Medieval Madness, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, and Johnny Mnemonic) and we usually didn’t play Johnny because of the glove not being able to lock positions 7, 8, and 9.  The next week, the Avenue added Tales of the Arabian Nights.  With only five games, and Johnny usually avoided, we ended up playing a lot of Medieval Madness.  We also played only three games per night instead of the current four (or even, on rare and sweet occasions, five).

Over the years we’ve lost Johnny (and I still miss his classic “go up the middle!”) and added a whole lot else.  We’ve kept most of the original core of players but added many more.  For my part, I’m now twice as good at pinball but still hovering around 10th or 11th in the league, because as I get better, so does the league.  Matt told me he started the league specifically to get Pete’s to put more games in the Avenue.  He probably could not have imagined how successful it would be.

Enough reminiscing; let’s talk about League Night #1.  We had several new faces including Aaron and Amanda G., who I know well from Marvin’s and other leagues and tournaments around the state, but who had never played in Lansing League before.  They had attended the Silver Balls in the City tournament and enjoyed the venue so much that they decided to make the long trek from the east side of the state to play with us again.  Aaron has already shown that he is going to be a serious threat to Chris’s undefeated record in the league, as he won the night with a massive 65 points.

We also had two brand new faces, folks who had not previously played in any league that I know of: Steve and Gabe.  Both had good nights, but Gabe had a particularly blockbuster game of Jack*Bot, a game he said he was playing for only the second time ever.  I cannot remember his score exactly but it was several billion, I think in the vicinity of 6 billion.

The league also saw the return of Christine after a season-long absence when Haley was born.  Haley was also in attendance, generally minding her own business, as was Aaron and Amanda’s daughter.

The Lansing League has come a long way and continues to grow.  I don’t expect that to change anytime soon, with pinball in Michigan and around the country booming.  As usual you can view the results of the night and more photos.